While front-loading washing machines do have their advantages, one thing is better about top-loaders – if you want to add a piece of laundry to a load that's already being washed, you can just open the lid and chuck it in. Well, Samsung's new WW8500 AddWash now lets you do the same thing with a front-loader.

The AddWash features an extra door built into the top of the main door, through which items can be added at any point in the wash (ordinarily with a front-loading machine, users have to wait until a cycle where the water level is low). Before that extra door is opened, the wash cycle is paused simply by pressing a button – the door also features a child lock, to keep the little 'uns from conducting experiments.

Samsung suggests that the AddWash feature could be used not only for adding bits of clothing that got missed when putting in the main load, but also for special care items that shouldn't be subjected to the complete washing routine.

To that end, the machine can communicate with an app on users' iOS or Android smartphone, alerting them just before it starts a new cycle.

The AddWash was introduced this Thursday at IFA 2015 in Berlin. It should be available in Europe towards the end of this year, at a price that has yet to be announced.